One of the things I’m most interested to explore when I’m visiting rural areas is the local produce. Lately I stayed in Orange (in South-Western NSW) and learnt that Orange/Bathurst is Australia’s main hazelnut production region.
So whilst at the near-by Milthorpe Markets, I bought a packet of local raw hazelnuts. While there are many ways you can use hazelnuts in cooking (cakes, cookies, pesto, roasted and tossed through salads, etc), I thought I’d have a go at making a version of a treat from my childhood – Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread).
I’ve adapted this recipe from one of my favourite blogs: Oh She Glows. (Makes a great consumable xmas pressie for sweet-tooths!)
Makes about 2 cups
ingredients
- 2 cups raw hazelnuts
- 1.5 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1.5 Tbsp organic cacao powder
- 1/2 tsp ground coffee
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
method
- Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C, then roast the hazelnuts on a baking tray for around 13 minutes or until the skins start to darken and started to come loose.
- Dampen a tea-towel and wrap the nuts up in it, then rub them together with your hands which will loosen some of the skins, then place the skinned nuts into a food processor (doesn’t matter if some still have their skins on).
- Process the nuts for 10 minutes, stopping every minute or so to scrape the mixture from the sides of the bowl.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and process for a further 10-15 minutes, until it’s at the consistency you like – the heat of the processor will smooth out the mixture somewhat. (Traditionally nutella is very smooth, but I prefer it a little courser.)
- Store the mixture in sterilized tightly-sealed glass jars in the fridge (it will thicken in the fridge then thin out a little when it’s brought back to room temperature).
Home made nutella… Aren’t you the food angel that keeps on giving!!